Running near dead silent, the Shadow Rock TopFlow delivered excellent temperatures for a C-style heat sink that blows airflow down onto the components, keeping the VRM circuit cooling cool. Using four heat pipes passing through the copper base and aluminum fin array it performs about as well as similarly configured tower designs, all while staying dead silent, much like the more capable dual tower Dark Rock Pro 2. Comparing the performance of the Shadow Rock TOPFLOW to a direct competitor, the NH-C14 from Noctua, we see that the four heat pipe be quiet! design is a little less efficient than the six heat pipe design from Noctua. As far as noise goes it's a wash. When you compare the pricing you have to figure out if the extra $30 for the Noctua fits into your budget.